Simulation of free-surface flow in a tank using the Navier-Stokes model and unstructured finite volume method

Abstract Modelling free-surface flow has very important applications in many engineering areas such as oil transportation and offshore structures. Current research focuses on the modelling of free surface flow in a tank by solving the Navier-Stokes equation. An unstructured finite volume method is u...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part C, Journal of mechanical engineering science Journal of mechanical engineering science, 2005-03, Vol.219 (3), p.251-266
Main Authors: Zhang, X, Sudharsan, N M, Ajaykumar, R, Kumar, K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Computational fluid dynamics
Computer simulation
Containers
Deformation
Finite element analysis
Finite element method
Finite volume method
Fluid dynamics
Fluid flow
Free surfaces
Mathematical models
Mechanical engineering
Navier-Stokes equations
Numerical analysis
Offshore drilling rigs
Offshore engineering
Offshore structures
Simulation
Stokes law (fluid mechanics)
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Modelling free-surface flow has very important applications in many engineering areas such as oil transportation and offshore structures. Current research focuses on the modelling of free surface flow in a tank by solving the Navier-Stokes equation. An unstructured finite volume method is used to discretize the governing equations. The free surface is tracked by dynamically adapting the mesh and making it always surface conforming. A mesh-smoothing scheme based on the spring analogy is also implemented to ensure mesh quality throughout the computaiton. Studies are performed on the sloshing response of a liquid in an elastic container subjected to various excitation frequencies. Further investigations are also carried out on the critical frequency that leads to large deformation of the tank walls. Another numerical simulation involves the free-surface flow past as submerged obstacle placed in the tank to show the flow separation and vortices. All these cases demonstrate the capability of this numerical method in modelling complicated practical problems.
ISSN:0954-4062
2041-2983
DOI:10.1243/095440605X8496